RIGHT SIDE UP

RIGHT-SIDE- UP
We often hear the expression that everything seems to be "upside down", when our piece of bread, spread with peanut butter falls on the floor, and lands with the buttered side down! Or if things don't work out like we think they should in our life situations. This is also the attitude we might take when we read scriptures like chapters 5, 6, and 7 of Matthew, where the words of Jesus are recorded. This is commonly called His "Sermon on The Mount", which starts with the "Beatitudes" (Matt 5:3-11). This would apparently be the first recorded full message of Jesus, in which He was attempting to lay out God's expectation for how His Kingdom on earth should be lived. To the natural mind that has not been "born again", much of what Jesus said seems to be upside down too, and impossible for humans to do. And in the natural they are impossible, that's why Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to replace Him on earth when He went back to heaven to be with the Father until the time of His second coming. In the gospel of John chapters 14, 15, and 16, Jesus explains to His followers what the Holy Spirit would do when He came. He would not only be "with them" as Jesus had been, but because He would be Spirit, He could also be "in them"! As the indwelling Spirit He can give us followers of Jesus the inside revelation, or understanding, of the scriptures He had inspired writers like Matthew or John to record.

So with the help of the indwelling Spirit, we can understand scriptures like the Sermon on the Mount, and see exactly what Jesus meant. He can make statements that seem to our natural mind as being upside down, to be turned "right side up"! This sermon by Jesus was His attempt to describe to us, who attempt to follow Him, guidelines to follow. We might consider them the bylaws, or regulations to govern our behavior, just like traffic laws govern the speed at which we can legally drive our vehicle. Because our Creator God is a God of perfection and absolute order, His Kingdom must have rules and regulations to govern it. And Jesus said we are to pray for this Kingdom which governs heaven, would come to earth. (Matt 6:10). If we are to see this happen, it stands to reason this must involve changes from the way we normally live our lives in this "fallen world". No human being enjoys change, because we are creatures of habit and resist change, even though we know we need it! That is why Jesus never told us it would be easy to be His followers, even though some other teachers today might!
Sincerely submitted.
Dave Jamer